Many apologies via parsley pesto

I owe you an apology. Many apologies, in fact. I have been MIA. Sure, I could go on and on telling you how busy I have been, and while that is partly true, I refuse to use it as an excuse. My free time has been jam packed with one social obligation after another, though. I had a friend visiting, during which time I spent my days in Napa, visiting Alcatraz, trekking in Muir woods, BBQing, or stuffing my face with food truck food. I was also away for 10 days at a conference in New Hampshire on lipoprotein metabolism (which was exhausting, awesome, and filled with wonderful people). Not to mention the plethora of needless eating out I have been doing. And then on the days that I was just chilling at home... I wasn't making anything noteworthy.

That is with the exception of this parsley pesto... which I made weeks ago... and am only posting now. So embarrassing.

Parsley overfloweth in my herb garden, so I knew I wanted to do some garden fresh parsley-heavy dish. And what better way to use up a big bunch of parsley than to blend it into a fresh pesto?! I didn't have any pine nuts on hand, but I did have some walnuts... and obviously plenty of garlic.

I tossed this pungent (and I mean that in the best of ways... the parsley flavor is very strong in a very very good way) sauce over some quinoa pasta with some fresh cherry tomatoes and called it a night. Simple as that! And then I enjoyed it on my balcony, looking at my newly trimmed herb garden. Next up, the mint and the pineapple sage need some tending to... in general expect some herb heavy recipes this summer.

Parsley Pesto

Materials:

• 1 bunch of parsley (roughly 2 cups), stems removed and chopped
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 2 garlic cloves
• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil (ends up being about 1/2 cup)
• salt 
• pepper

Methods:

1. Add the parsley, walnuts, garlic and lemon juice to a food processor and process until a uniform paste forms.
2. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil until a smooth sauce consistency is reached.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Toss with pasta and enjoy!
• If serving with pasta, reserve a bit of the pasta water to thin out the sauce and help it coat the pasta nicely.